How to Survive Plane Travel with a Toddler (17 Tips for Parents)

If you flew with your baby and nailed it, I have news for you: flying with a toddler might actually be different. The same baby who slept the whole flight when they were 6 months old might be a toddler who wants tons of snacks and lots of toys.

So, how do you do it? How on Earth do you survive flying with a toddler, whether it’s your first time or whether you’re looking for new tips for your 90th flight with a toddler-aged child?

In this list, I’ve pooled the best hacks from real parents, including my friends and family members, to fly with a toddler like a pro.

Bring snacks, and more snacks

For us, snacks was a huge focus of flying with a toddler.

We brought a tote bag full of snacks (both for her, and for us). We brought out snacks one at a time.

A friend of mine highly recommend getting those “pill of the day” containers and putting snacks in them. We also have the “OXO formula dispenser” and it has a little spout with 3 compartments that’s great for bite-size foods. It makes the snacks a game!

Bring drinks or lollipops for ear pressure

Another mom I know suggests bringing lollipops, juice boxes or a water cup for takeoff and landing.

Here’s why: toddlers are too young to understand that they need to swallow, to get their ears to pop. We gave our daughter a water cup or straw cup as we were taking off and landing in-flight.

Bring new airplane-friendly travel toys

To prepare for flying with our toddler, we borrowed “plane-friendly toys” from a friend with a child the same age. Here’s the tip: bring little toys that your toddler has never seen before, and, take them out one at a time.

Put these great toddler toys for flights on your international toddler packing list:

• A mess-free coloring books from Melissa & Doug
• A toddler busy board that makes a good educational airplane toy set for toddlers
• This buster square that packs flat can be taken out every few hours for some challenges.
• 6-Piece Jet Plane Magnetic Wooden Block Set
• Quiet Montessori Book for Toddlers with Educational Activities
• Toddler Fidget Cube
• Where’s the Fire Truck? Lift the Flap book
• Fat Brain Toys pipSquigz & Suction Squigz Starter Set (24 pieces)
• Fat Brain Toys Original Dimpl Popper (young toddlers)
• Nesting cups (young toddlers)
• Suction cup window spinners

All these toy ideas for flights came from friends of mine, and my “mom” community!

Use a baby or toddler carrier for naps

If your toddler is having trouble falling asleep upright in their car seat or on your lap, walk up and down the aisle (assuming it’s not the time for meal or beverage service) and try to aim for a nap this way.

I recommend the Baby Tula Carrier Lite as my favorite baby carrier for travel. It is so compact and lightweight, and holds a toddler up to 30 pounds! It’s one of my best tips for flying with a baby as well.

If your child is more than 30 pounds, look into a toddler carrier like the Baby Tula Toddler Carrier. It holds a toddler up to 60 pounds and is recommended for ages 2 to 6.

Take Benadryl and Tylenol

Take along children’s or infant (if under 2) Benadryl and Tylenol, “just in case” of any unexpected situations like an allergic reaction to something nearby, or even a fever that develops mid-flight. (This has also become one of my musts for what to do when your child is sick while traveling)

I think the last thing I’d want if I needed either of these for my toddler would be to ask other parents on the flight if they had any that I could use. It’s best to have your own, in your carry-on, like how I learned to always bring around a thermometer when we travel as a family.

Play toddler-friendly YouTube

While it’s not for our family, plenty of my friends and some parents I know download YouTube videos on their phones. They download videos like Ms. Rachel and Sesame Street. (A recommendation is to bring an iPad with pre-downloaded Ms. Rachel videos.)

A friend of mine got the YouTube premium trial so that she could download with ease. On the flight, she hooked her phone onto the tray and the toddler was so content listening to videos for a while that it became a well-behaved environment.

A tip is to keep the volume as low as you can, and passengers near you won’t mind. In fact, they may prefer children’s songs to a crying or screaming toddler.

As a pro tip, many parents suggest not being afraid to pull out a device if you need to. As seasoned parents say: the sooner you can get a toddler to put up with wearing headphones, the better your future travels will go. It’s just one opinion, out of many.

Bring busy toys (not ones with pieces)

I mentioned bringing lots of packable toddler toys, but here is the catch: Avoid bringing too many toys that have small pieces for your flight.

Here’s why:

• Toys with pieces are bound to get lost
• Young toddlers may throw toy pieces or parts on the ground, or at other passengers.

Magnetic toys are a big recommendation! A lot of toddlers also enjoy buckle books or activity books with zippers, snaps and buttons, like a challenge.

Wrap new toys like gifts

Wait for it: this is a common tip for toddler parents who fly!

So many of my friends have said that they wait for vacation time to bring out new toys for their toddler’s flight. If you want to create more excitement or make the occasion feel special, wrap either new (or old!) toys in wrapping paper and do a gift-opening with your toddler at their seat.

Play with the in-flight magazines

Why is it that our toddler wanted to play with the safety brochure and the in-flight meal brochure more than anything else? We had brought a whole bag of snacks and toys, and she just wanted to read through JetBlue’s snacks-for-purchase list for some reason.

Apparently this is common, because it’s the fascination of the thing that is not an actual toy, and I’ve heard of it from other parents! If you’re a germaphobe, consider that they’re probably not the cleanest, and if you don’t want your child going after them, put them away elsewhere.

Bring “Triangular Crayons”

Our toddler discovered coloring, and we thought it would be a great way to pass the time on the flight. The only issue is that Crayons, when left on the tray table, tend to roll away, under the seats of strangers, and basically, we had to chase after them as the plane was in motion.

There’s a solution: Triangular Crayons do not roll off the tray table. Keep in mind that some toddlers may need supervision for coloring.

Use hacks to make seats more comfy

Here’s a tip for having a toddler in his or her own seat: bring an inflatable seat extender, which will make it so that the leg room is filled in by this type of inflatable pillow, turning the seat into double its length.

You can also try this waterproof seat extender for making a toddler’s journey more comfy.

Face the car seat to the rear for comfort

Some parents say they can never figure out how to use the car seat in a rear-facing direction on the plane. If you have to use it forward-facing, ask for the seat belt extender from the flight attendant.

A mom I know says that her toddler always gets uncomfortable due to the seat belt being right at his back. This tip can help with that during the flight.

Take deep breaths

Every parent worries that their child will be the loud or screaming toddler for the entire flight. Remember: you will be prepared and doing your best.

There will be fussy moments and distraction will help!

I have a friend who had an awful flight with her one-year-old toddler, but they wound up having a nice vacation after that. It’s important to acknowledge that kids can tell when you are stressed. Try to be as relaxed as possible, and they may calm down quickly with softened voices, quiet songs and sensory decompressing.

Bring spare changes of clothes

Even though your toddler is past the baby stage, there are always going to be possibilities of blowouts, spills and messy meals. Bring changes of clothing for each parent and each toddler, and pack the pieces of clothes between your personal items.

Another hack is to bring big Ziploc bags to tuck away messy or wet clothes, and get them packed compactly in your backpacks or carry-ons. (Another tip is to make sure you have a smock bib if there’s any liquidy foods or possibilities of meal splashes.)

Walk the airplane aisles (and don’t be shy!)

Especially if you have a friendly toddler and it’s not a time when the flight’s lights are dimmed, walk the aisles and bounce around.

It’s a good way to keep moving and get out of your seats. We did this a little on our flight back from Colombia when we were running out of things to do with our toddler!

If you wish, bring a toddler carrier so you can walk and bounce, if your toddler is being fussy or needs to get snoozy for a nap.

Use hacks for your Cosco car seat

The Cosco Scenera NEXT is the most popular aviation-approved car seat for toddlers, and it seems everyone has one.

The Cosco seat has a strap on the back that you can attach to your stroller handle and clip back into the seat so the whole thing hangs off the stroller and saves you a carrying hand.

It MAY tip your stroller over when your toddler isn’t in it because of the weight; however, figuring this out can be a game-changer and will be one fewer thing to drag around.

Practice the install of the Cosco in advance of your trip so you feel comfortable with it.

Make nap time a possibility

If in the bassinet row, your toddler may want to nap on the floor. This is apparently allowed (on certain flights), given the length of flight and airline.

My friend’s toddler did this when she had the bulkhead seats for her and her partner and had their younger baby in the bassinet. Check with your flight attendant if this is a possibility for your toddler, and then set down a travel blanket or a little pillow.

For replicating any familiar nap time favorites from home, try bringing a sound machine. We have tried a few from this list of the best travel-sized sound machines and we take the Yogasleep one on our trips.

Bungee cords with your car seat

If you have a Yoyo stroller, the best hack that my friend has done for the past three or four flights is to use it as a base for the Cosco NEXT car seat.

Here’s the hack: Attach two bungee cords through the seat belt passes of the car seat, around the base and back of a Yoyo stroller. The back tether goes over the handlebars. You can wheel your toddler around without having to carry a car seat on your back. You can wheel the entire getup down the aisle.